Everyone loves getting new stuff and being able to use it immediately. However, if you really want to find some of the best gear for a great price it is important wait till then end of the season to purchase new snowboarding equipment and gear. When March comes around you need to start looking around at the local board shops to see who has the best deals going on. The retailers want to clear out their stores and warehouses so they can make room for summer items. This greatly benefits the consumer by getting a four hundred dollar snowboard deck for nearly two hundred and fifty dollars.
Currently www.the-house.com which is a great website for low prices on all things snowboarding, wake boarding, skating, and skiing are currently having huge sales on their winter items. They are using the success of the United States Snowboarding team at the 2010 Olympic Games, especially Shaun White. You are able to receive up to a forty percent discount on their boards and gear. But this is only one website, and there are plenty others to choose from each having its own great deal on boards and gear.
So if you are in the market for some fresh gear for next season, fight that urge to wait till next seasons new stuff comes out. Instead, head out to your local shops and find that sweet new deck that got lost in crowd during the season for almost half price.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Online Chats
In this same writing class at James Madison University we also broke into groups of about four students each and conducted online conversations. During this online conversation we were suppose to talk about information that we were going over in class. Topics such as how technology affects our abilities to write and remember. For instance, in Plato’s Phaedrus the topic arises that with the new technology of their time, writing, memory will no longer be as necessary for people to become intelligent.
The argument in this piece is that since students of Plato’s day needed to memorize all text that they believed that they would need in the future. In today’s world however we have the ability to write down information for future reference, as well as the internet that provides vast amounts of written information at the click of the button. This propels the belief we no longer need to use our memories as we use to.
During the online chat that we conducted we concluded that while we no longer need to memorize everything as we once needed to, the technology of writing that was new to Plato has truly revolutionized the world. Take a minute to think about how this world would be different without reading. You would no longer have computers, books, TV, video games etc.
We also took note of how conversations tended to overlap each other. As well as, move much faster than typical face to face conversations. The conclusion that my group came to was that these types of online conversations are great for talking to friends or even a couple of fellow students or co-workers, however it seems that if many more than four or so people in an online conversation at a time tends to lead to the conversation losing its meaning, and people can then become confused more easily.
The argument in this piece is that since students of Plato’s day needed to memorize all text that they believed that they would need in the future. In today’s world however we have the ability to write down information for future reference, as well as the internet that provides vast amounts of written information at the click of the button. This propels the belief we no longer need to use our memories as we use to.
During the online chat that we conducted we concluded that while we no longer need to memorize everything as we once needed to, the technology of writing that was new to Plato has truly revolutionized the world. Take a minute to think about how this world would be different without reading. You would no longer have computers, books, TV, video games etc.
We also took note of how conversations tended to overlap each other. As well as, move much faster than typical face to face conversations. The conclusion that my group came to was that these types of online conversations are great for talking to friends or even a couple of fellow students or co-workers, however it seems that if many more than four or so people in an online conversation at a time tends to lead to the conversation losing its meaning, and people can then become confused more easily.
Hypertext
In my technology and writing class at James Madison University we have recently been discussing hypertext. A hypertext is a way of storing data on a computer program that allows the user to create and link information non-sequentially through nodes. Nodes are the ‘hot link’ or hyper-linked part of the document that allow you to click on them to move to another part of the story. As stated in Literacy and Computers,
Because exploratory hypertext can still preserve much of the original author’s node offerings, some sense of stability is preserved: the reader is still only choosing among various options that are inherently in the original text—a path from one node to another exists only because the original writer decided that it should exist. (Selfe and Hilligoss 207)
Many people believe that these types of documents are going to change the way people read recreationally, thus blurring the lines between reader and writer. However, after a class discussion we came to the conclusion that these types of documents still need work. Hypertexts are still a foreign to people from my generation as well as people from past generations.
We were able to come to the conclusion though that hypertext documents have the chance to catch on in the future, if they are used more in the classrooms of grade school. I think that hypertext can be a very useful tool in the classroom. However, I believe that they will provide as a better tool for teaching students how to write rather than helping them with their reading.
Work Cited
Selfe, Cynthia L., and Susan Hilligoss. Literacy and Computers: the Complications of Teaching and Learning with Technology. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1994. Print."
Because exploratory hypertext can still preserve much of the original author’s node offerings, some sense of stability is preserved: the reader is still only choosing among various options that are inherently in the original text—a path from one node to another exists only because the original writer decided that it should exist. (Selfe and Hilligoss 207)
Many people believe that these types of documents are going to change the way people read recreationally, thus blurring the lines between reader and writer. However, after a class discussion we came to the conclusion that these types of documents still need work. Hypertexts are still a foreign to people from my generation as well as people from past generations.
We were able to come to the conclusion though that hypertext documents have the chance to catch on in the future, if they are used more in the classrooms of grade school. I think that hypertext can be a very useful tool in the classroom. However, I believe that they will provide as a better tool for teaching students how to write rather than helping them with their reading.
Work Cited
Selfe, Cynthia L., and Susan Hilligoss. Literacy and Computers: the Complications of Teaching and Learning with Technology. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1994. Print."
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Slope Difficulty
When you take to the slopes it is important to know what you are getting yourself into. In order to do that you must know how difficult each slope is. Therefore, a universal coding system has been implemented in order to keep everyone safe. However, the Europeans had added a couple more classifications to their list than the Americans have. The classifications break down like this:
•Green Circle: Easiest- good for beginners
•Blue Square: Intermediate- good for someone who feels comfortable on a green circle.
•Black Diamond: Intermediate/Difficult- good for someone who is ready to test their skills, and is bored with the green circles and blue squares.
•Double Black Diamond: Difficult- steep and only for someone is an expert.
•Triple Black Diamond: Extremely Difficult- these slopes are for professionals only, and are very dangerous.
These signs need to be takes seriously, as do all signs on the slopes, as they are there for your safety. You need to be able to properly asses your skills before tackling slopes of higher difficulty. And remember that there is no shame in taking a lesion if you’re a beginner or just trying to advance your skills on a snowboard or heaven forbid a set of skis’.
There are also other signs that you should be aware of when hitting the slopes. For instance, when an area of snow is starting to get close to the ground where rocks can be a sign will be placed a few feet up slope. These signs are generally a black and orange pole with a circular orange sign on it.
Stay safe and make sure you don’t try slopes that you are not ready for yet.
•Green Circle: Easiest- good for beginners
•Blue Square: Intermediate- good for someone who feels comfortable on a green circle.
•Black Diamond: Intermediate/Difficult- good for someone who is ready to test their skills, and is bored with the green circles and blue squares.
•Double Black Diamond: Difficult- steep and only for someone is an expert.
•Triple Black Diamond: Extremely Difficult- these slopes are for professionals only, and are very dangerous.
These signs need to be takes seriously, as do all signs on the slopes, as they are there for your safety. You need to be able to properly asses your skills before tackling slopes of higher difficulty. And remember that there is no shame in taking a lesion if you’re a beginner or just trying to advance your skills on a snowboard or heaven forbid a set of skis’.
There are also other signs that you should be aware of when hitting the slopes. For instance, when an area of snow is starting to get close to the ground where rocks can be a sign will be placed a few feet up slope. These signs are generally a black and orange pole with a circular orange sign on it.
Stay safe and make sure you don’t try slopes that you are not ready for yet.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Avalanches
An important point that I would like to stress, to all who are going to hit the slopes on a snowboard or skis, is that you must be alert and safe. Everyone has to do their part to know and apply the rules and safety tips that riders must know in order to keep fellow outdoor enthusiast safe. Knowing how to be safe on the mountain becomes much more important when riding in areas that have large amounts of fresh powder. This is because areas then become prone to avalanches, which I’m sure you all know can be very dangerous.
It is important to remember that avalanches are often triggered by yourself or somebody that is riding with you. Having the ability to ride down a mountain requires a fair amount of skill, but skill alone does not mean they you should be on that slope. It is important to remember that when riding in an area that is prone to avalanches three things must be kept in mind:
1) What is the weather like?
2) What is the terrain like?
3) What is the snowpack like?
You should always ask around to find out what the weather has been like in the past week or so. That way you know that if a lot of fresh snow has fallen avalanches are more likely to occur. When snow falls it tends to fall in layers. When one of the layers grows weak it collapse and forms a pocket that you can fall into, or it can trigger an avalanche. Last thing there is to know about basic avalanche signs is the terrain. Obviously, the steeper the terrain the more likely it is for an avalanche to occur.
It is important to remember that avalanches are often triggered by yourself or somebody that is riding with you. Having the ability to ride down a mountain requires a fair amount of skill, but skill alone does not mean they you should be on that slope. It is important to remember that when riding in an area that is prone to avalanches three things must be kept in mind:
1) What is the weather like?
2) What is the terrain like?
3) What is the snowpack like?
You should always ask around to find out what the weather has been like in the past week or so. That way you know that if a lot of fresh snow has fallen avalanches are more likely to occur. When snow falls it tends to fall in layers. When one of the layers grows weak it collapse and forms a pocket that you can fall into, or it can trigger an avalanche. Last thing there is to know about basic avalanche signs is the terrain. Obviously, the steeper the terrain the more likely it is for an avalanche to occur.
Manuals & Butters
Once you have mastered the basics of snowboarding the next step is to add some tricks to your skill set. One trick that is easy and is also the basis for most of the tricks that one can perform on a snowboard is a manual. A manual is simply the act of raising either the front nose of your snowboard or the back or tail.
I would recommend starting with a tail manual first. To perform this you need to lift up your front foot, while at the same time push forward with your back foot. It is important to remember that while your back foot is pushing forward that the pressure is being distributed evenly. This is so you will be able to keep your balance as well as keeps you going straight forward.
Once you have the tail manual under control you can try a nose manual. To perform a nose manual the same actions are performed as a tail manual except you lift up on the tail of the board and place your weight on the front foot.
After these manuals have become mastered you can move onto ‘butters.’ To perform butters you start by performing a manual, and then apply pressure to either the toe or heel edge to start rotating. This is a stylish move that is sure to attract some attention from the ladies on the lift.
Now that the manuals are under control you are ready to learn how to ‘pop’ your board to perform a jump. To do this start with performing a tail manual, then as you feel the pressure build up pop the board to bring your tail into the air. You have now performed a jump and are ready to hit the terrain park with your new set of skills.
I would recommend starting with a tail manual first. To perform this you need to lift up your front foot, while at the same time push forward with your back foot. It is important to remember that while your back foot is pushing forward that the pressure is being distributed evenly. This is so you will be able to keep your balance as well as keeps you going straight forward.
Once you have the tail manual under control you can try a nose manual. To perform a nose manual the same actions are performed as a tail manual except you lift up on the tail of the board and place your weight on the front foot.
After these manuals have become mastered you can move onto ‘butters.’ To perform butters you start by performing a manual, and then apply pressure to either the toe or heel edge to start rotating. This is a stylish move that is sure to attract some attention from the ladies on the lift.
Now that the manuals are under control you are ready to learn how to ‘pop’ your board to perform a jump. To do this start with performing a tail manual, then as you feel the pressure build up pop the board to bring your tail into the air. You have now performed a jump and are ready to hit the terrain park with your new set of skills.
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